January 8, 2014

Local News

The News Journal
Delaware MET charter finds a home
The Delaware Met, a new charter school set to open in the fall, will be housed at 300 East Eighth St. in Wilmington, formerly known as the Layton Home, the school announced Tuesday.

Dover Post
Caesar Rodney explores options to alleviate overcrowding in its schools
Six of Caesar Rodney School District’s 12 schools are over capacity. This includes Caesar Rodney High School, Fifer and Postlethwait middle schools, McIlvaine Early Childhood Center and Frear and Star Hill elementary schools. Enrollment numbers at the high school show no signs of letting up, said the district’s Board of Education Vice President William Bush. Kindergarten enrollment figures also offer a glimpse into the future of the district.

Language immersion software proves a challenge for local school districts
Middlebury Interactive, a state-approved immersion software designed to teach students languages though interactive videos, recorded conversations and weekly interactions has caused local district administrators to become frustrated with the software’s technical glitches and program errors. Capital’s issues stemmed primarily from the Middlebury software itself, said Dr. Darren Guido, supervisor of instruction for the Capital School District.

WHYY
Governor Markell discusses Delaware hot topics with high schoolers
Governor Jack Markell fielded questions from Delaware high school journalists during a multi-school teleconference today at Dover High School. The hour-long Q&A with the governor covered topics including higher education, jobs and unemployment and school safety.

National News

Huffington Post
States struggle to overhaul schools after No Child Left Behind
Some states are having trouble keeping the promises they made to get out from under the cumbersome No Child Left Behind Act, according to the Education Department. The department on Monday released results from audits of the way six states — New York, Delaware, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi and Connecticut — are replacing No Child Left Behind. Delaware struggled with focus schools, and “does not currently have in place a mechanism to ensure that schools implement interventions that directly address the needs” of underperforming students, the feds wrote.

Politico
For right, Common Core fight to prelude bigger agenda
National advocacy groups powered by the Koch brothers and other conservative megadonors have found a new cause ripe with political promise: the fight to bring down the Common Core academic standards. The groups are stoking populist anger over the standards — then working to channel that energy into a bold campaign to undercut public schools, weaken teachers unions and push the federal government out of education policy.

Inside Higher Ed
Comprehensive on completion
Maryland’s public colleges are working to comply with one of the nation’s most ambitious college completion bills. High schools must test students on their college readiness before they finish their junior years and create “transition” courses for students who are deemed unprepared. Public colleges must require students to complete at least one non-remedial math and English course as part of their first 24 credits.

Education Week
State lawmakers face tough choices on Common Core
State legislators begin their 2014 sessions grappling with the best way forward on the Common Core standards in a tricky political climate, with a majority of governors and lawmakers up for election in the fall. Many lawmakers will be working to help ensure that state accountability and assessment systems lead to students who are better prepared for study and work after high school, said ECS President Jeremy Anderson.

Tampa Bay Times
Florida keeps to schedule for replacing FCAT in 2014-15
Florida planned to use exams being created by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) to measure progress on the Common Core standards. But the education department was directed by Gov. Rick Scott to consider other options. Five companies are now competing for the state testing contract. PARCC did not submit a proposal for the state contract because it is federally funded.

Idaho Ed News
Otter outlines education spending plan
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter used his State of the State address to call for spending $35 million to begin erasing recession-era budget cuts absorbed by districts. Overall, he recommended $37.4 million in new spending for K-12, a nearly 2.9% increase over this year’s funding level. Otter’s proposal includes funding for recommendations by a statewide task force to improve the education system

Chicago Tribune
Minority students make up new majority in Illinois public schools
New enrollment numbers in Illinois show that Latino, black, Asian, and other racial groups combined eclipse white students across the state’s classrooms. Illinois would be one of a dozen states in which minority students are in the majority. The rise in minority students can potentially affect everything from how states fund education to graduation rates, test scores, and the teaching staff, said ECS’ Kathy Christie.